Danny Devito

One of the world’s most beloved stars, Danny DeVito is an Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer best known for his diverse starring roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment, Get Shorty, and L.A. Confidential. He can currently be seen playing diabolical schemer Frank Reynolds in FX Network’s hilarious television series, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Appeal

Danny DeVito is proof that even God can an off day. Saddled with a doughy body and a balding head that’s just a little too large for his diminutive 5’0” frame, this New Jersey native had to overcome his fair share of obstacles growing up. “I was plagued,” he admits. “I couldn't slow dance with the girls I wanted to because my face would be in a spot where I might be thought of as moving too fast." Luckily he managed to find a girl who was just his speed in 1970 when he met fellow actor Rhea Perlman. The pair tied the knot in 1982 and, by all accounts, have one of the steadiest relationships in Hollywood. “It’s been a fabulous ride,” Perlman says. “Obviously, we have some chemical thing going on. We’re still together. We know people who work hard, very hard on their marriages or relationships, and some just don’t work.”

Success

Napoleon had nothing on Danny DeVito. While “le petit caporal” may have conquered Europe, DeVito has conquered the entire world of entertainment. This 5’0” sparkplug has appeared in more than 100 film and television productions, directed six big screen flicks and produced more than two dozen award-winning projects including Reality Bites, Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, and Erin Brockovich. “This business is fun,” he says. “I love it. It's the greatest business in the world."

Danny Devito Biography

Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born November 17, 1944 in Neptune, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Asbury Park. The youngest of five children, he attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School. However, he never felt completely at ease in the classroom and upon graduating he left the world of academia behind to work in his sister’s salon. “I figured, well, I'm not doing anything else, and I could meet a lot of girls there," he says.

danny devito attends the american academy of dramatic arts

Danny DeVito soon realized he could make more money as a cosmetician than as a hairdresser and, a year and a half later, he enrolled in a makeup class at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City (no, seriously). While there, he also began dabbling in acting classes, and he moved to Hollywood following his graduation in hopes of becoming a big screen star. Unfortunately his small stature proved to be a turn off for many of the town’s casting directors, and he ended up watching more movies than auditioning for them. "I worked as a car parker, and I hung around the Sunset Strip with all the flower children," he says. "I had long hair and I wore a raincoat and sneakers and I fit right in. But I wanted to act."

danny devito appears in one flew over the cuckoo's nest

Undeterred, Danny DeVito moved back to New York where he began appearing in a number of off-off-Broadway productions before eventually landing a role in 1970 in a stage version of Ken Kesey's counterculture novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The play proved to be a huge hit, and DeVito was invited to reprise his role five years later in a big screen adaptation of the novel starring fellow New Jersey native Jack Nicholson. The deliciously dark comedy went on to become the first film in 40 years to win Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, and DeVito personally cashed in with a string of small -- but memorable -- roles throughout the late 70’s.

danny devito stars in taxi

Danny DeVito truly came into his own in 1978 when he was cast as tyrannical dispatcher Louie De Palma in Taxi. The role earned him an Emmy Award in 1981 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series, and the show went on to enjoy five stellar seasons on two different networks. By the time Taxi came to an end in 1983, DeVito was already a bona fide star and he easily made the transition back to the big screen with fabulous performances in Terms of Endearment starring Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine and Romancing the Stone, featuring Kathleen Turner and his former roommate Michael Douglas.

danny devito becomes a bankable star

Danny DeVito went on to perfect his darkly comic persona in a number of blockbuster films throughout the mid to late '80s, including The Jewel of the Nile, Ruthless People, Tin Men, The War of the Roses, and Twins, a farcical film co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his first comedic roles. DeVito also made his big screen directorial debut in 1987 with Throw Momma from the Train, an amusing parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, Strangers on a Train.

danny devito becomes one of hollywood’s top producers

Throw Momma from the Train received rave reviews from fans and critics alike and Danny DeVito returned to the director’s chair twice in the 1990s for the gritty biopic Hoffa in 1992 and the twisted children’s film Matilda in 1996. He also furthered his influence within the industry by producing a number of hit films throughout the decade including Reality Bites, Pulp Fiction, Feeling Minnesota, Out of Sight, and Man on the Moon. Luckily for his legions of loyal fans, DeVito still remained active in front of the camera as well, as evidenced by his winning performances during that time in Junior, Get Shorty, L.A. Confidential, The Rainmaker, and the deliciously over-the-top Tim Burton flick Batman Returns, for which he received an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain.

DeVito can currently be seen playing diabolical schemer Frank Reynolds in FX Network’s hilarious television series, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.